Saying Goodbye
by InMyJazzShoes
Summary: Hermione saw Harry walk into the Forbidden Forest, sacrificing himself so that everyone else could live. Finally, she spoke the most difficult word she ever had to speak. Goodbye. One shot HHr


**Author's Note: **I always kind of had this little story stuck in my head about what would happen if Hermione had looked for Harry enough to find him on his way to sacrifice himself…so yeah, that's what this is about. And my obsession with the final battle is proven even further with the setting. I won't continue this, because I already have two stories about what happened directly after the battle; read those (hint hint) if you're obsessed with the final battle like I am. I hope that you enjoy this little one shot of mine :)

I have one other thing to say…is "Saying Goodbye" too common of a title for a story? Sounds pretty dramatic, actually, don't you think? I had a huge internal debate about what to name this story, but I'm really tired, and not in the mood for arguing with myself, so I just chose this title.

This is the longest Author's Note the history of all my Author's Notes, but…I really like the little quote that I put in italics right after the title. It's my little quote that I just came up with. It's not even in the story. Do you like it? I do. Hehe.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. But, I do own quite an imagination, so I'm going to use it on fan fiction rather than on my science project.

* * *

Saying Goodbye

_The most difficult thing was to let go, and accepting the truth, the destiny, that destroyed all her happy emotions and replaced them with overwhelming sadness._

_Where is he?_ Hermione thought to herself. She ran around all over the place, dodging hexes and jinxes as she went, but Harry was nowhere to be found. There was only one more place that he could have gone…and it scared Hermione to even check there.

In the Forbidden Forest.

Voldemort had made an announcement, or more like a threat, for Harry to come into the forest in order for everyone else to live. But Hermione didn't want him to leave. She wanted to be with him, at least say goodbye…No, she couldn't think that. Of course Harry was alive; he always survived these things, right? Doubt filled her mind as she finally willed herself to head in the direction of the forest.

And there he was. Harry was walking into the Forbidden Forest, sacrificing himself for his friends to survive. Tears began to form at her eyes. Why did this have to happen to him? Why was the most wonderful person that Hermione ever met, held with so many responsibilities?

Harry was getting closer the forest, and Hermione knew that she had to stop him. If she even tapped him, though, he'd probably instinctively hex her, without even realizing who she was.

"G-Goodbye," she finally said with a lump in her throat. Harry turned around and his eyes widened.

"_Hermione_?"

They just stood there and locked eyes for a moment before Harry said, "You shouldn't be here."

"I thought you were supposed to kill Voldemort! Why are you letting yourself be killed?"

Harry sighed and looked down at his feet. "I'm the last horcrux."

Hermione's jaw dropped to the floor, and tears fell down her cheeks faster than ever. She covered her face in her hands in disbelief. "No! You…you can't be! This isn't fair!"

He quickly rushed up to her, wrapped his arms around her, and attempted to comfort her. "Life isn't fair, Hermione. It just has to be like this."

"But…but what about everyone you care about? Are you just going to leave us here?" Hermione cried.

"I'm doing this so that everyone else could survive."

Hermione continued to cry, and Harry held her in his embrace tighter. He said, "Either way, I'm going to die. Voldemort's going to kill me in the forest, or you and others will die along with me in an attempt to kill him. I'm pretty sure that you want to stay alive, Hermione."

"How am I supposed to stay alive with you dead?" she whispered, still making eye contact with him. Her words were absolutely true. Life would be pointless if Hermione woke up every morning knowing that she let Harry die.

Harry's shocked expression turned into a guilt-ridden one. "I'm so sorry, Hermione. I must die. This is how it ends."

When Harry let go, she completely lost it. Harry couldn't die. He just couldn't. When he turned around, Hermione stopped him. "W-Wait!"

"Goodbye," he whispered over his shoulder, closing his eyes shut, most likely stopping tears from falling.

There must have been something Hermione could have said. Something honest, and true, and something that would at least stall time without her needing to tell a single lie.

"I love you, Harry."

Harry whipped his entire body around. He didn't look too shocked, though, because she had told him many times that she loved him like a brother. But now, whether or not she loved him more than that was being questioned. How could she be thinking these things when she was with _Ron_?

Unfortunately, she knew the answer: she wouldn't be having as much of a mental break down as she was right now if Ron were put in Harry's situation. Hermione cared about Harry more than anyone else in the world. If someone were to shoot two killing curses, one at Harry and one at Ron, she would jump in front of Harry without any second thoughts.

Quickly, she ran back into his embrace. Hermione wanted to tell him the truth, and realization, that she had just processed in her mind, but the words barely reached her lips. They came out in a faint whisper.

"I don't know if I love you like a brother," Hermione said, "or something more."

Harry placed a kiss on her forehead and closed his eyes. This earned a perplexed look from her. Had he even heard what she told him?

And then Harry turned on his heels and disappeared into the forest. Hermione sat down on the cold grass beneath her and screamed. She cried and yelled at the top of her lungs for what seemed like an eternity. She made a promise to herself that she would blast Voldemort into the next millennium for what he did to Harry. _Her_ Harry.

"Hermione!" she heard Ron's voice exclaim behind her. He appeared beside her and hugged her. "I heard you screaming bloody murder, what's wrong?"

"He's gone," Hermione said softly, closing her eyes. "Harry's gone."

Silence blanketed them, and she noticed a tear run down Ron's cheek. "He was the last horcrux," she added.

"That leaves us to send Voldemort to hell, I guess," Ron said, more to himself than Hermione. She couldn't help but admire his humor at a time like this, and she almost smiled.

Despite her attempts, her lips refused to form into a smile, causing her to frown even more. "We should head back to the castle and get ready," Ron suggested.

"Are you _seriously_ recovering from this already?!" Hermione screamed at him.

"Harry died so that we could finish off Voldemort. If we're not prepared to fight, than Harry will have died for nothing."

At Ron's words, Hermione broke out into a full sprint towards the castle. There was no way that she was going to have Harry die for nothing. Finally, crying along the way, she made it to Hogwarts with Ron several yards behind her. Quickly, she removed her jacket, revealing a white tank top. Hermione tossed the jacket to the side and tied her hair back.

Ron didn't need Hermione to tell him to round up several fighters and prepare them. The majority of them gathered in the Great Hall, and her attempts to hold back tears were failed. Tears wouldn't stop falling from her chestnut eyes, and it blurred her vision greatly. She was sure that her cheeks were red from tear marks, and that her eyes were puffy, but her appearance was the last thing that she cared about at that moment.

Suddenly, the giant oak doors opened and Hermione saw Hagrid walking into the Great Hall, crying harder than she had ever seen him cry before. And in his arms she saw a teenage boy with dark hair. The boy's limp figure proved that he was dead. Hermione gasped.

It was Harry.

There he was, dead, right in front of her. Of course she had expected this, but the reality hit her so hard that she almost fainted. Several people gasped as well, and she heard muffled cries from behind her. Hermione couldn't stand the sight of her friend's dead body. She averted her eyes quickly and her shoulders shook violently from crying.

Voldemort appeared beside Hagrid and rage built up within Hermione. She clenched her wand tightly and narrowed her eyes on Harry's murderer.

"NO!" Professor McGonagall screeched.

"_Harry_?! Harry!" Ginny screamed even louder than the aging witch.

Voldemort simply laughed and said, "He was trying to escape to save himself –"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Hermione screamed so loud that her voice was believed to be lost for a moment.

"Excuse me?" Voldemort said in a surprised tone.

"Harry died to save us!"

"You must be Miss Granger, yes? I'll be sure to finish you off next – Harry cared about _you_ more than anyone else. Even more than –" he began, "—Ginny Weasley."

Ginny narrowed her eyes, and Hermione said, "You can't 'finish me off', _Tom_."

This got Voldemort angrier than ever and he took a step towards Hermione. "And why is this?"

"Because we're protected," she explained, "with Harry's love. Just like Harry was protected with his mother's love. His sacrifice is the reason that you can't touch us."

"How cute," he laughed, and the Death Eaters behind him joined in. "You're protected by _Harry's love_."

"You know what?" Hermione said with attitude. Then she many steps in front of her before she was just inches away from Voldemort. "Go. To. Hell."

Hermione couldn't help but feel pleased with herself. She was standing up to Voldemort, the wizard who was feared by so many others. _Harry would be proud_, she thought to herself.

Without warning, a majority of the older wizards and witches started casting hexes and jinxes towards Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Hermione dodged spells, several of them being killing curses, and she tried to find Ron and Ginny, who would have more than enough motive to kill Voldemort at that moment. Finally, she found them, but they weren't looking at her; they weren't even looking for her. They were staring at something, in shock as well…

So Hermione turned her head to see what they were looking at. She felt extremely lightheaded from what she had just seen. Harry was standing before Voldemort. He was alive. _Alive_! Hermione wanted to rush up and hug him until the breath was taken out of his lungs, but he was too busy lost in his own world, prepared to duel Voldemort.

The two of them circled around each other, and Harry was actually outsmarting his enemy with his honest words and sharp tone.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

"_Expelliarmus_!"

Harry and Voldemort held their wands out and screamed their spells. Harry's met his opponent's; the Elder Wand flew into the air. With the reflexes of a Seeker, the emerald-eyed boy caught the wand in his free hand. Voldemort fell to the ground, finally defeated.

Silence took over the Great Hall until everyone overcame their shock, and wizards and witches everywhere cheered and screamed at the top of their lungs. Hermione ran at full speed towards Harry, who had finally met his eyes with hers. His smile was absolutely indescribable; the fact that it was over, Voldemort was killed, must have filled Harry with more joy at that moment than anyone else in the Hall could have ever felt in their lifetime.

Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry tightly and practically deafened him with her cheers. Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville also joined their hug, followed by hundreds of others. But at one moment, all Hermione could hear was Harry's calm voice.

"I love you too, Hermione."

Hermione hugged him tighter than ever and placed a kiss on his cheek, knowing that she wouldn't be saying goodbye for a while.

* * *

**Author's Note: **You really didn't need to be too much of a psychic to figure the ending out. I was going to leave it as "I love you too, Hermione", but it was too original. Plus, I needed it to tie in with the title.

I have a challenge for you (Ooh. Ahh.) Could you make me a very happy person and click that little review button to the left? It's not that hard, you can do it – I know you can. And maybe in that little box that pops up, you could type what you felt about this story, and/or how I could improve my writing. I reply to all of my reviews!


End file.
